IBF junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson overcame a slow start to stop ex-beltholder Kendall Holt at 1:42 of the eighth round after flooring him in the fourth and sixth rounds on Friday night.

Although unbeaten Floyd Mayweather has created a media firestorm by naming IBF beltholder Devon Alexander as the leading opponent to face him on May 4, Alexander’s trainer says his fighter is focused on recovering from a biceps injury, and the IBF says it won’t approve a defense against Mayweather.

An apparent biceps injury to IBF welterweight beltholder Devon Alexander has forced the postponement of his defense against Kell Brook that was slated for Feb. 23, according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer.

WBO middleweight titleholder Peter Quillin is in the mix of a division that includes RING/WBC champ Sergio Martinez, WBA and IBF counterparts Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Geale, as well as ex-beltholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Former RING light heavyweight and middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins will be 48 years old by the time he enters the ring for a proposed clash with IBF 175-pound titleholder Tavoris Cloud on March 9.

The prospect of a highly-anticipated clash of junior featherweights between Abner Mares and Nonito Donaire was among the many topics broached by Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer in New York on Wednesday.

Bob Arum on Jimmy Kimmel’s spoof of Manny Pacquiao: “Something like that is so invaluable in promoting a fight. It gets to an audience that isn’t necessarily into boxing. There’s no telling what effect it has.”